On my walk ... the wood pigeon

 


This is a common sight almost everywhere it seems, the wood pigeon is one of the most widespread of species despite its name seemingly linking it to woodland. The RSPB places the wood pigeon at number 4 in its top 10 garden birds.

At a time when the population level of almost all British species is falling the wood pigeon seems to be prospering. When the first 'birdwatch' was held back in 1979 the wood pigeon placed at 18th. Ten years later it was up to 13th and by 1999 it had risen to 10th. The rise of the wood pigeon seems to be relentless!

It is obvious, of course, that if the populations of other birds are falling the numbers of wood pigeon could remain the same and it would still rise up the RSPB charts and that is undoubtedly a contributory factor but there will be other factors too that have 'probably' seen the numbers increase. I say 'probably' because I have not found any census data that actually confirms the population is, indeed, increasing.

I suspect that one major factor in its success is its ability to breed almost all year round and as winters are becoming less cold I think they are nesting earlier in the year and are, therefore, getting an extra brood in over the course of the season. Milder winters will also reduce the death rate leaving yet more birds to breed in the spring. It is also noticeable that in the gardens here there are some youngsters not in full adult plumage yet and that I think is unusual so late in the year.

Wood pigeons do not seem to be very popular for some reason, many people seem to dislike them. I have no problem with them other than their tedious, repetitive 'song'; "My toe bleeds Bettie". 


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